Boehner to Reid: 'Go F**k Yourself

An unenthusiastic hug between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid & House Speaker John Boehner after their remarks for the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (Chet Susslin)

Now it’s no secret that tensions have been running high between Democrat and Republican leaders. Indeed, the entire “fiscal cliff” ordeal has been marked by partisan backbiting and back-and-forth bickering.

Still, every now and then you get a story that surprises you.

For instance, we knew Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) were not exactly on friendly terms. However, we were unaware that it allegedly came to a head last Friday when the two ran into each other outside of the Oval Office.

Via POLITICO:

House Speaker John Boehner couldn’t hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday.

It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight, and Reid had just publicly accused Boehner of running a “dictatorship” in the House and caring more about holding onto his gavel than striking a deal.

“Go f— yourself,” Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present.

Reid, a bit startled, replied: “What are you talking about?”

Boehner repeated: “Go f— yourself.”

The harsh exchange just a few steps from the Oval Office — which Boehner later bragged about to fellow Republicans — was only one episode in nearly two months of high-stakes negotiations laced with distrust, miscommunication, false starts and yelling matches as Washington struggled to ward off $500 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts.

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Featured image courtesy the AP. This post has been updated.